Report of 30 Oct '05
Hello from sunshine land -
We are very happy to see the sun out after 1 continuous day of rain 3 days ago on Thursday. Our flat leaks through the windows and we had to mop and wring out towels every hour. All the joy of sitting inside, dry and cozy, and watching nature's magnificence outside were consequently tempered by the reality of finding nature inside. It gave us a fine appreciation of what the poor might go through when their houses leak. At least we had sturdy towels to do the mopping, and the amount of water did respond to said mopping.
The Banyan is good. One of the staff members, Ms. M, came to me w/ a pounding headache and it was evident from looking at her that she felt terriblly unwell. The only tools at my disposal are the history and physical exam, as my patients simply cannot afford a cat scan or MRI. So I probed; it turned out to be a quasi-sinus headache accompanied by something else. I then asked if she had worries of the heart ("manakkavalai") and she got teary. I held her hand as her friend provided collateral; M's mother is a patient at the Banyan and M works in the kitchen there. She has made a go of her life in spite of her mother's mental illness and those of us who have had to cope w/ our parents' physical illness know the amount of turmoil such illnesses cause and must perforce imagine what *mental* illness can do. M is romantically involved w/ the maintenance man, both are single, and I rather like this young love as it has the potential to provide support to M. I gave M medicine to clear up her sinuses and a powerful pain med, and when I went in the following day, she came up looking fresh and lovely and obviously better. M is a tall, pretty girl and I am very fond of her; it was nice to help her when I could.
A helpline patient came in: the helpline is what anyone can call to report a destitute, mentally ill woman. When I went into the B on Wednesday, one of the senior social workers was waiting for me and gave me the rundown on what the patient seemed to have; you know, it is very nice to be a partner in caring for someone. We went in to see the pt and she was a pathetic sight: a wound on her right foot had not been tended to, there were bones and tendons exposed and maggots in it; her hair was being shaved and maggots were coming out of her scalp; she simply had no reserve to fight any more. To the Banyan employees' great credit, no one was flinching from what they had to do; the young ladies shaved her head, gave her a bath, cleaned her up and she was dispatched posthaste to a local hospital for surgery. At least 2 of the staff members then headed off and vomited. I had not seen maggots before and they were not as disgusting as I expected. I am keen to hear how this patient fared. The B's strength is that everyone merits treatment, warrants compassion, deserves a kind word; what a lovely place to work.
Due to the rains, no one came for tutoring. We have given out the umbrellas that Doug Watts brought, but the kids don't use them. (They are, I think, being hoarded lest they break.) We are really pleased that a couple of the kids are doing well, and will concentrate our efforts on the others also. To educate a child, to pass on the love of learning, to help her/him come out of poverty - this would be a good thing.
The basketball team wound up its season completely winless, of course, and we are having a big party at our house today to celebrate the team's spirit. As Jesse saw, the players show up for every game, knowing w/ 100% certainty that they are going to lose, and play their hearts out. I like this. A lot. We went to see 2 of the best teams - the American school and St. Vincent - play the other day and the match deteriorated into ugliness; one of the AS players (not an American national) punched an SV player in the stomach, the kid collapsed and when I rushed to help, I was asked by the AS staff to stay away as they could handle it. They had not handled it by the time I got there, I examined the patient, suggested treatment and held my ground until the ice got there and the SV player got up. I fail to see any reason for hostility (and said so to the AS players) and I do wish the American school would exemplify some of the wonderful traits of Americans in the U.S. - sportsmanship, friendliness, helpfulness, acceptance. None of the players is American, the coaches are. The player who slugged the kid did come and apologise several times, which I found gracious.
Scott and I hung out at the beach yesterday and it was a blast. I am very glad he is so different from me and can take care of details I overlook - like finances. The kids and I watched "Jerry Maguire;" as I looked at the good news the lead character got, I thought to myself that it's been a while since I heard any nice things about potential funding or my registration and that is currently irrelevant. All my good tidings come from the fact that my patients heal, and that is sufficient for now. We will merrily celebrate Diwali this week, to commemorate Krishna slaying a demon, and wish all of you a Happy Diwali. We will be off to Delhi for a short holiday, in spite of the bomb blasts, and will see the Taj as well.
"There are times when you have to choose between being human and having good taste." - Bertolt Brecht
Unw -
Renu
We are very happy to see the sun out after 1 continuous day of rain 3 days ago on Thursday. Our flat leaks through the windows and we had to mop and wring out towels every hour. All the joy of sitting inside, dry and cozy, and watching nature's magnificence outside were consequently tempered by the reality of finding nature inside. It gave us a fine appreciation of what the poor might go through when their houses leak. At least we had sturdy towels to do the mopping, and the amount of water did respond to said mopping.
The Banyan is good. One of the staff members, Ms. M, came to me w/ a pounding headache and it was evident from looking at her that she felt terriblly unwell. The only tools at my disposal are the history and physical exam, as my patients simply cannot afford a cat scan or MRI. So I probed; it turned out to be a quasi-sinus headache accompanied by something else. I then asked if she had worries of the heart ("manakkavalai") and she got teary. I held her hand as her friend provided collateral; M's mother is a patient at the Banyan and M works in the kitchen there. She has made a go of her life in spite of her mother's mental illness and those of us who have had to cope w/ our parents' physical illness know the amount of turmoil such illnesses cause and must perforce imagine what *mental* illness can do. M is romantically involved w/ the maintenance man, both are single, and I rather like this young love as it has the potential to provide support to M. I gave M medicine to clear up her sinuses and a powerful pain med, and when I went in the following day, she came up looking fresh and lovely and obviously better. M is a tall, pretty girl and I am very fond of her; it was nice to help her when I could.
A helpline patient came in: the helpline is what anyone can call to report a destitute, mentally ill woman. When I went into the B on Wednesday, one of the senior social workers was waiting for me and gave me the rundown on what the patient seemed to have; you know, it is very nice to be a partner in caring for someone. We went in to see the pt and she was a pathetic sight: a wound on her right foot had not been tended to, there were bones and tendons exposed and maggots in it; her hair was being shaved and maggots were coming out of her scalp; she simply had no reserve to fight any more. To the Banyan employees' great credit, no one was flinching from what they had to do; the young ladies shaved her head, gave her a bath, cleaned her up and she was dispatched posthaste to a local hospital for surgery. At least 2 of the staff members then headed off and vomited. I had not seen maggots before and they were not as disgusting as I expected. I am keen to hear how this patient fared. The B's strength is that everyone merits treatment, warrants compassion, deserves a kind word; what a lovely place to work.
Due to the rains, no one came for tutoring. We have given out the umbrellas that Doug Watts brought, but the kids don't use them. (They are, I think, being hoarded lest they break.) We are really pleased that a couple of the kids are doing well, and will concentrate our efforts on the others also. To educate a child, to pass on the love of learning, to help her/him come out of poverty - this would be a good thing.
The basketball team wound up its season completely winless, of course, and we are having a big party at our house today to celebrate the team's spirit. As Jesse saw, the players show up for every game, knowing w/ 100% certainty that they are going to lose, and play their hearts out. I like this. A lot. We went to see 2 of the best teams - the American school and St. Vincent - play the other day and the match deteriorated into ugliness; one of the AS players (not an American national) punched an SV player in the stomach, the kid collapsed and when I rushed to help, I was asked by the AS staff to stay away as they could handle it. They had not handled it by the time I got there, I examined the patient, suggested treatment and held my ground until the ice got there and the SV player got up. I fail to see any reason for hostility (and said so to the AS players) and I do wish the American school would exemplify some of the wonderful traits of Americans in the U.S. - sportsmanship, friendliness, helpfulness, acceptance. None of the players is American, the coaches are. The player who slugged the kid did come and apologise several times, which I found gracious.
Scott and I hung out at the beach yesterday and it was a blast. I am very glad he is so different from me and can take care of details I overlook - like finances. The kids and I watched "Jerry Maguire;" as I looked at the good news the lead character got, I thought to myself that it's been a while since I heard any nice things about potential funding or my registration and that is currently irrelevant. All my good tidings come from the fact that my patients heal, and that is sufficient for now. We will merrily celebrate Diwali this week, to commemorate Krishna slaying a demon, and wish all of you a Happy Diwali. We will be off to Delhi for a short holiday, in spite of the bomb blasts, and will see the Taj as well.
"There are times when you have to choose between being human and having good taste." - Bertolt Brecht
Unw -
Renu
posted by Renu Weiss at
8:56 PM
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